Dictionary of Heretics, Dissidents, and Inquisitors in the Mediterranean World
Edizioni CLORI | Firenze | ISBN 978-8894241600 | DOI 10.5281/zenodo.1309444
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The concept of Nicodemism originated with Calvin, who compared those French Protestants who lacked the courage to profess their faith openly to the biblical figure of Nicodemus (mentioned in the Gospel of John), a Pharisee who visited Jesus by night, concealing his adherence to the Master's teachings. Calvin harshly condemned this attitude, leaving Protestants with no alternative but martyrdom or exile. Nicodemite behaviour became widespread in Italy, and was condemned by, among others, Pier Paolo Vergerio and Giulio da Milano. Radical heretics of various tendencies, such as Lelio Sozzini, Celio Secondo Curione, and Giorgio Siculo, instead justified its practice, recommending it as a temporary strategy of prudence. The Spirituali, followers of the teachings of Juan de Valdés, likewise adopted a de facto Nicodemite attitude: the complete devaluation of the ritual practices of the Catholic Church inherent in Valdés's thought made outward conformity to them possible, since such practices were considered spiritually meaningless. Similarly, the Spanish alumbrados did not reject Nicodemite behaviour, nor did, more generally, the cristianos nuevos (conversos and moriscos).
Within the historiographical debate on Nicodemism, Carlo Ginzburg argued that it should not be understood merely as a practical response to persecution, but rather as a genuine religious theory consciously embraced and practised by its adherents throughout Europe. Ginzburg's interpretation has, however, been widely challenged by other historians and appears largely speculative and lacking a solid empirical foundation. Moreover, Nicodemite behaviour must be interpreted differently according to the specific religious convictions of those who practised it: the Valdesians, for example, were Nicodemites in a different sense from the French Calvinists.
Bibliography
- Delio Cantimori, Nicodemismo e speranze conciliari nel Cinquecento italiano, in "Quaderni di Belfagor", 1, 1948, pp. 12–23.
- Carlos M. N. Eire, Calvin and Nicodemism: A Reappraisal, in "Sixteenth Century Journal", 10, 1979, pp. 45–69.
- Carlo Ginzburg, Il nicodemismo. Simulazione e dissimulazione religiosa nell'Europa del Cinquecento, Einaudi, Turin, 1970.
- John J. Martin, Nicodemismo, in DSI, vol. 2, p. 1115.
- Antonio Rotondò, Atteggiamenti della vita morale italiana del Cinquecento: la pratica nicodemitica, in "Rivista storica italiana", LXXIX, 1967, pp. 991–1030.
Article written by Daniele Santarelli | Ereticopedia.org © 2014-2026
et tamen e summo, quasi fulmen, deicit ictos
invidia inter dum contemptim in Tartara taetra
invidia quoniam ceu fulmine summa vaporant
plerumque et quae sunt aliis magis edita cumque
[Lucretius, "De rerum natura", lib. V]